White House: Infrastructure Plan to Come After Congress Handles Tax Reform
A top aide to President Trump told reporters Aug 15 that the administration plans to first pursue a tax reform plan in Congress this autumn, then turn to the long-promised infrastructure investment plan. Gary Cohn, director of the president's National Economic Council, said the infrastructure plan would "come on the heels" of a tax overhaul, Politico reported. "We hope it's this year," he added. While the president and others in the administration at times this year said they were close to...
PHMSA Announces Pipeline and HazMat Safety Grant Funding Opportunities
PHMSA Announces Pipeline and HazMat Safety Grant Funding Opportunities. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published Notices of Funding Opportunity for the Hazardous Materials Community Safety Grant (CST) and its Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) for pipeline safety. The CST program provides up to $1 million to nonprofit organizations to conduct outreach and training that prepares communities to deal with rail incidents involving Class 3 flammable liquids. The CST also fun...
U.S. Department of Transportation Proposes $78.88 Million in FASTLANE Small Grants to 10 Infrastructure Projects
WASHINGTON - The Department of Transportation has provided a list of 10 proposed FY 2017 FASTLANE Small Project grant awards totaling $78.88 million to the authorizing committees of jurisdiction for a 60-day Congressional review period. This year, seven of the ten proposed grants are targeted for projects in rural areas to increase freight mobility and produce greater economic opportunities. The proposed awards will enhance safety at over 100 rail crossings, repair nearly 250 miles of track a...
USDOT Finalizes Nearly $629M TIFIA Loan for Orange County (Calif.) I-405 Project
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau said it will provide up to a $628.93 million TIFIA loan to the Orange County (Calif.) Transportation Authority to cover about a third of the estimated cost to expand both general highway capacity and add 16 miles of express toll lanes along Interstate 405. The bureau said the loan is at a 2.91 interest rate with a term of 35 years after substantial completion for the I-405 Improvement Project. As previously reported, the OCTA boa...
USDOT Sends Congress List of 10 Proposed INFRA Freight-Related Grant Awards
The U.S. Department of Transportation told Congress that it proposes to issue nearly $79 million to 10 freight-related roadway, rail and port infrastructure projects, under a Highway Trust Fund program lawmakers created in 2015. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao notified House and Senate authorizing committees of the selections in an Aug. 2 letter, which triggered a 60-day period in which Congress could vote to disapprove the list if it finds a project objectionable. Congress created th...
Road Builders Propose Funding Package Built Around New Fees on Freight
One of the most active advocacy groups for transportation infrastructure investments is calling on Congress to build a new long-term funding package around new types of fees on freight movements on the nation's highway system. In a July 17 letter to Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-...
USDOT Completes $152.2M TIFIA Loan for Riverside (Calif.) County I-15 Express Lanes
The U.S. Department of Transportation said its Build America Bureau will provide a $152.2 million long-term, low-interest TIFIA loan to the Riverside (Calif.) County Transportation Commission for a project to add express toll lanes in the median of the Interstate 15 corridor. The credit under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program costs 2.84 percent, with a term of 35 years after substantial completion for the I-15 Express Lanes Corridor Project. "This major a...
Surface Transportation: A Comprehensive Plan Could Facilitate Implementation of a National Performance Management Approach
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently issued the last of six interrelated rules to implement a new performance-based approach to federal surface transportation grant programs. Three of the six rules establish 17 total performance measures in the areas of safety, pavement and bridge conditions, and performance of the surface transportation system (congestion, freight movement, reliability, and air quality). Rulemaking was the first of three stages to implement the transportation perf...
Stakeholders in Global Smart City Market Seek New Funding Models to Monetize Projects
SANTA CLARA, Cal.– The capital-intensive task of transforming cities into seamless ecosystems is prompting governments to explore revenue sources beyond internal bodies and join hands with financial intermediaries and private investors. With the rising connectedness of things and people, the global smart city market could expand to $1.5 trillion by 2020 and prove to be one of the biggest investment avenues for private investors and institutions. The public sector will also look to new mechanisms...
Panel Sends USDOT Bill to House With Cuts, After Challenge on Infrastructure
The full House Appropriations Committee on July 17 approved a fiscal 2018 transportation funding bill that would make cuts in transit assistance and end the popular TIGER grants, after brushing aside a push by minority Democrats to add an infrastructure investment package. The bill adheres to 2018 spending levels for Highway Trust Fund programs as called for in the FAST Act. However, the bill also proposes to rescind another $800 million of authorized highway funds from state transportati...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
